covering the mouse

Monday, March 31, 2008

Baby Mine - Debra Byrne & Arja

Over here in North America we don't really hear about famous Australian musicians. In fact, I have a whole CD of Disney music by famous Australians and I haven't heard of any of them! But a little bit of research reveals that these artists are very accomplished and should be made known to the world. DEBRA BYRNE is one of those artists. Debra started her career on an American Idol style talent show for youth that produced a record contract and a hit single in the 70s. She has acted in many Aussie productions and more recently Aussie Broadway productions like Cats and Sunset Boulevard.

Debra's version of Baby Mine, taken from DUETS: A FAMILY CELEBRATION pairs her up with her 19 year old daughter Arja. The two voices are very similar and it sure seems like Arja has had some training from mom. However, the vibrato in their voices causes me to not like the parts they sing in unison. Separately they would be fine and I'm sure they would sound great in harmony.

This cover draws heavily from Bonnie Raitt's version that appeared on the STAY AWAKE compilation album from 1988. I haven't posted that version yet so you'll have to go elsewhere to compare (It's better).